Microsoft"s introduction of Power Map for Excel owners back in April (under the name GeoFlow) gave users a way to show data from spreadsheets in full 3D maps. Power Flow was later added to its Power BI cloud-based intelligence service. This week, Microsoft announced some major new additions have been put into Power Map.
In a post on the Excel blog, Microsoft stated that one new change allows for automatic color coding of geographical data according to zip code, county, state, and country. Maps can also be viewed either as flat or as part of a globe for the first time.
Perhaps the coolest new feature is the ability to create videos showing off Power Map data, such as the example above. Videos can be made to be watched in any platform, from smartphones in 360p resolution, to tablets in 720p and large monitors in 1080p. Microsoft says, "This is the first step in "unlocking" tours from the Excel workbook as these videos can be shared anywhere, including social media, PowerPoint slides, and Office 365."
Microsoft has also added some more language support to Power Map, including Spanish, Japanese, and Arabic, with more languages to be added in 2014. Excel Power Pivot users can also map data in the Data Model using Power Map for the first time, and map colors can also be customized.
Source: Microsoft | Image via Microsoft